In U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,085, a collapsible boat is disclosed. The boat has a pair of side panels which are pivotally mounted to respective bottom panels. This arrangement allows the four panels to move from collapsed, generally parallel positions to expanded positions in which the side panels are held apart from each other. This is necessary since the inherent resilience of the material of the boat will tend to collapse the boat.
To keep the side panels of the boat apart, at least a pair of spaced seat boards are placed in expanding relationship to the side panels of the boat. Then, seat boards frictionally engage the inner surfaces of the side panels near the upper edges of the side panels. These seat boards keep the boat expanded until ready to be collapsed, whereupon the boards are taken away from the boat and the side panels assume parallel collapsed positions with the bottom panels. This allows a boat to be readily carried from place to place in a collapsed condition, the collapsing being assisted by the inherent resilience of the material of the boat, such material being a yieldable plastic material which is resistant to damage due to collisions with docks, rocks and the like.
A center wing has been used in the past to support each seat board from beneath. The seat board has a lower end which is placed at the junction of the two bottom panels. This feature centers the seat board and allows it to be sat upon by an occupant of the boat. A disadvantage in using the seat board of the type described above is the wobbling of the boat or the lack of stability of the boat. These problems cannot be experienced for too long of a time before the occupants of the boat feel discomfort due to the unnatural wobbling of the boat. A need exists therefor for some means to inhibit or substantially eliminate the wobbling and the present invention satisfies this need.